Shooting near Jewish community centre in Vaughan, Ont. targeted but not a hate crime, police say
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'There's no indication at all that this is a hate bias incident,' media relations officer James Dickson said in response to a question from National Post.
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Dickson told reporters at the scene that officers responded to reports of a shooting at 10:25 a.m. and confirmed that a 33-year-old man had been shot. The individual was taken to hospital with 'serious but non-life threatening injuries' from a gunshot wound, he said.
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'We do believe that the shooting was targeted,' Dickson added, while refusing to provide 'any additional information in terms of identifying any of our victims.'
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York Regional Police are currently looking for one 'white male' suspect 'operating an older-model, dark-coloured sedan.' Dickson asked people in the community with any information about the incident to contact local law enforcement but said they 'don't believe that there's any public safety (concerns) at this time.'
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'None of the criteria that would be there for the Hate Crime Investigation Bureau to be brought into consultation have been met,' the spokesman said. 'We do believe this to be a targeted incident. We do know that there's been a lot of incidents this year right across Vaughan that have brought hate bias to the front of people's minds and I can confirm that this is not related to that whatsoever nor the (Jewish Community) Centre.'
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The neighbourhood was quiet on the sunny afternoon. A few local students walked by, and captured images of the police tape blocking off streets. Local residents expressed alarm at the sight of their neighbourhood being filled with police cruisers.
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'I figured it's probably another kid just setting up a firework,' one eyewitness, who asked not to be identified, told the Post. 'I don't know what this government is doing,' he said, adding that the community is home to the elderly and kids and the threat of violence is disconcerting.
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He told the Post that he heard lockdown announcements broadcast from the Jewish schools located nearby.
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